Tactics in ‘Red Warriors’
Scenario #4: Across the Vazuza
Part 1: 0930 – 1000
By Doug McNair
October 2006

Red God of War is one of my favorite games. So, when it came time to do a Panzer Grenadier scenario book on the Operation Mars campaign, I took up the project with gusto. “Zooming in” to the tactical level, we find that the same issues confronting the German and Soviet players in Red God also figure prominently in Red Warriors. The Soviets are attacking with massive numerical superiority in both armor and infantry, but German unit toughness and command quality are often more than a match for the Soviets. So, the Soviet player will have to plan and coordinate his attacks very carefully.

One scenario that illustrates these issues well is Scenario #4: “Across the Vazuza.” In it, the Soviet 326th Rifle Division and 25th Tank Brigade kick off Day 1 of the Mars Campaign by attacking the German 195th Infantry Division on the eastern flank of the “Rzhev Bulge.” The scenario is played on boards 6, 3 and 9, set up vertically left to right. The Germans start the game entrenched and dug-in near the town of Vaselki (the small town in the center of the board). The Soviets enter the north board edge, with their penal units in the lead.

Soviet objectives in this scenario are:

1. Control all town hexes at the end of the game.
2. Eliminate at least 16 German steps.
3. Lose no more than 20 Soviet steps.
4. Exit at least 25 Soviet steps off the south board edge.

In all cases, tank steps count double, and wagon and Penal units don’t count.

The Soviets win a Major Victory if they achieve any three of their objectives, and a Minor Victory if they achieve two of them. The Germans win a Minor Victory if the Soviets achieve only one of their objectives, and a Major Victory if they achieve none of them.

The factors favoring each side in this scenario are as follows:

Soviet Advantages

Armor: The Soviet player goes into battle with two KV-1 tank platoons, three T34 tank platoons and four T60 light tank platoons. On the other hand, the Germans have only one platoon of StuGIIIGs. This 7:1 armor advantage nicely complements the 3:2 Soviet infantry advantage, and fire support from the tanks will be of tremendous help when the Soviet infantry storms the German trenches.

Artillery: The Soviets also have a 3:2 advantage in offboard artillery, plus three BM-13 on-board rocket artillery platoons. Each BM-13 platoon has a bombardment strength of 20, and while this early version of rocket artillery isn’t very accurate, it can provide a powerful punch against entrenched Germans.

Time and Intelligence: The Soviets have 26 turns to achieve their objectives, meaning they can afford to hang back and let their artillery pound the Germans for a while before going in and assaulting them. In addition, Soviet Razvedka (“Reconnaissance/Intelligence”) units have a good chance of spotting hidden German positions before game-start. This means that Soviet artillery can start hitting German AT gun positions right away, even if they’re in limiting terrain. Taking out German AT guns early is essential if the Soviet player wants his tanks to support his infantry in close combat.

German Advantages

Leadership and Morale: The superior unit toughness of the Germans in Red God translates to higher morale and leadership bonuses for the Germans in Panzer Grenadier. German unit morale is 8 while Soviet unit morale is 7, and that all by itself will give the Soviets nightmares when assaulting the Germans. Higher morale gives units a +1 column shift in assault combat, and with the added bonuses for being dug-in or entrenched, the Soviets will be wise to avoid storming anything that hasn’t already been disrupted or demoralized by Soviet artillery and tank fire.

In addition, German leaders have a higher average morale than their Soviet counterparts, and almost all German leaders give combat or morale bonuses (often both), while only half of Soviet leaders do. This gives the Germans a good chance of withstanding Soviet bombardment, and will let them form large fire teams for opportunity fire on incoming Soviet infantry.

Fire Range: All German units have a longer fire range than similar Soviet units. This is especially important in the case of German armor and anti-tank guns. The German StugIIIGs and the 75mm and 50mm anti-tank guns all have AT ranges of 8, while no Soviet tank has a range of more than 5. German AT fire will be devastating as the Soviet tanks approach — all the more so because there’s deep snow on the battlefield and the tanks will be slowed. If the Soviets aren’t careful to take out the German AT guns with artillery before putting their tanks in harm’s way, Soviet armor may evaporate quickly.

Entrenchments: The Germans get to start the battle with six entrenchment markers on the board, and units in another five hexes may begin dug-in. This means that the Germans can plug all the gaps in the board’s natural forest defenses with entrenched units. And since entrenched units get a –2 defensive column shift bonus against enemy fire (just like units in towns), the Soviet player will have a very hard time getting past forward German trenches to reach their objectives.

Game Summary

Here begins an extended game summary that illustrates the points above:

Setup: The Germans establish a forward defensive perimeter north of the road and across the width of the board. They entrench heavy machinegun and weapon platoons behind dug-in infantry. They do this in hopes of hitting the Soviets hard as soon as they enter, rather than letting them hang back and pound the German positions with artillery.

The Germans keep their StugIIIG tank platoon farther south on the road, so that it can quick-move laterally to stop any Soviet advances while hitting Soviet armor from afar. The heaviest German AT gun, the 75mm, is also placed on the road, guarding the German right flank on the eastern edge of the woods on Board 9. The German mortars and some reserve infantry go in the town of Valseki.

Soviet Razvedka only spots one of the German reserve infantry stacks in town — not any of the forward, entrenched anti-tank gun positions in the woods. Not a good omen for the Soviets. . . .

Turn 1 — 0930 Hours

The Germans win initiative by one, so they wait for the Soviets to enter. Per scenario instructions, only the penal units enter on Turn 1. Two penal units start by entering four hexes east of the river on Board 3. They head for the relatively isolated fire team there, whose Lieutenant has a combat bonus but no morale bonus. Both penal units take opportunity fire but make their morale checks. German offboard artillery replies and demoralizes both of them.

Then another two penal units enter four hexes from the west board edge and head for the units on the extreme German left flank. Long-range German fire disrupts one of them and demoralizes the other. German artillery holds its fire, and then the last two penal units enter the board, right behind the just-entered units on the German left flank. No German units that haven’t fired are in range to use opportunity fire on them, so German offboard artillery hits them but has no effect. The Germans pass, and the turn ends.

0945 Hours

The Soviets win initiative by two activations, so they start by bringing in a captain, a lieutenant, four infantry and two HMG platoons just west of the central river on Board 3, heading straight for the 50mm AT gun position in the woods north of the road. Their aim is to get within spotting range of it so they can call in artillery strikes and destroy it.

All the units make it onto the board in good-order with no effect from opportunity fire. Then the Soviet artillery goes in, but all units in the target hex make their morale check. German offboard artillery replies and hits the Soviet captain’s hex, disrupting one of his INF units. Then the rest of the Soviet artillery hits the dug-in infantry east of the river, disrupting one of them.

The Germans pass to see what the Soviets do next, and that turns out to be a human wave just east of the river. Opportunity fire from the German fire team there is ineffective as six Soviet leaders, 17 INF and four HMGs paint the board red. The remaining German offboard artillery hits the hex containing the Major leading the charge. The major comes through it OK, but the INF with him gets demoralized.

Six more Soviet infantry enter Board 9 east of the woods, backed by two HMGs. Long-range fire from a German infantry gun on the road to the south is ineffective. The Soviets advance with their penal units on the German left flank, one of which is demoralized by opportunity fire. The StugIIIG tank platoon moves east through the town, across the bridge and up behind the fire team that’s about to get overwhelmed by Russians. The demoralized penal units that just got swept up in the human wave fail to recover and flee east toward the woods, and then the German INF reserve in town moves east to secure the bridge.

The disrupted penal unit near the German left flank advances, and its demoralized compatriot fails to recover and flees. Two German platoons in the woods east of the human wave start bushwhacking it west, and the Soviets pass. The turn then ends on a Fog of War roll.

326th Rifle Division has joined battle, but where is 25th Tank Brigade? And where is the vaunted Soviet rocket artillery? Tune in next time and find out!

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